1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to the art of electrical connector for use in transmitting high frequency signals and more particularly to matched impedance connectors.
2. Description of Related Art
As an interface for data transfer between a host such as a computer and a hard disk drive (HDD) there usually is employed such a protocol as SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) or ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) Interface. In particular, from the standpoint of improving the interface function and attaining a reduction of cost, the ATA interface is utilized in many computers and is also widely utilized as an interface in other types of storage devices such as optical disk storage devices. With the demand for improving the recording density and improving the performance, the demand for the data transmission rate of the ATA interface is becoming more and more strict. Therefore, ATA interface (serial ATA) using serial transmission instead of the conventional parallel transmission has been proposed.
A standard for serial ATA is being established by “Serial ATA Working Group.” A Serial ATA connector is usually used in transmitting high frequency (for example, 150M˜6.0 GHZ) signals. In order for a connector to minimize signal disruption as the signal passes through the connector, it must also have a characteristic impedance at each point along its length which matches the impedance of the transmission line. An impedance mismatch causes severe signal disruption, particularly in high frequency applications.
Usually, a edge of a contact is cut to make a small width which makes a small capacitance and matches the impedance of the transmission line. But a small width will cause low strength which makes the contact being easy to be deformed and further results in defect.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.